Irna News

A Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, was seized by Iran on April 13 for "violating maritime laws", Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that there was no doubt the vessel was linked to Israel.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route."The vessel was diverted…

MSC is the manager and commercial operator of a vessel seized on Saturday by Iranian authorities, international shipping company Zodiac Maritime said in a statement."MSC is responsible for all vessel activities including cargo operations and maintenance. Title to the vessel is held by Gortal Shipping Inc as financier, and she has been leased to MSC on a long-term basis. Gortal Shipping Inc is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime," said the company, partly owned by Israeli businessman…

The U.S. Navy said it had intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, in the latest in a series of attacks on ships in the area since 2019.In a statement, the U.S. Navy said that at 0100 local time (2100 GMT), an Iranian naval vessel had approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman."The Iranian vessel departed the scene when U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived on station…

Iran held joint naval, air, and ground exercises in the Gulf on Friday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, state media reported.The drills involve submarines and drones "practising information-gathering operations against attacking forces, as well as reconnaissance operations,” Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the official IRNA news agency.The exercises, code named Zolfaghar-1401, were launched overnight Friday in the eastern side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman.Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign vessel in the Gulf for allegedly smuggling 757,000 liters of diesel out of the country, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.The unnamed vessel's seven crew members, who are foreign nationals, have been handed over to legal authorities, IRNA reported without elaborating on the nationalities of the ship or its crew.Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring countries and b

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, Iranian state media reported, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast."The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for violations in Gulf waters," said a Guards statement, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.It gave no further details or say what the alleged violations were.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vessel…

The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However…

Iranian authorities seized a foreign ship attempting to smuggle fuel out of the country and detained its crew, state new agency IRNA said on Wednesday.Iran, which has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.The ship, carrying more than 550,000 liters of smuggled fuel, was seized in Gulf waters and escorted to harbor in the southern province of Hormozgan, where it was handed to judicial authorities for investigation, t

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had seized a vessel in Gulf waters loaded with 250,000 liters of smuggled fuel, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy state subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring states and by sea to Gulf Arab states. It has frequently seized boats it says are being used for smuggling oil in the Gulf.The ship's seven crew have been detained, IRNA said, citing a Guards spokesman, Gholamhossein Hosseini.

All but one of the 30 crew members of a United Arab Emirates cargo ship that sank off Iran have been rescued, Iran's official IRNA news agency said on Thursday."Twenty-nine crew members have so far been saved, and rescue operations are continuing to find another team member," an official from Iran's Bushehr Province told IRNA.Jahangir Dehghani said two Iranian rescue vessels were present at the scene of the accident and that meteorologists reported wind speeds of 70 kilometers per hour.Dubai-based Salem Al Makrani Cargo Company had earlier told Reuters that its ship sank as a result of bad weather.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday they had seized a foreign ship in Gulf waters loaded with what they described as smuggled diesel.Guards commander Ahmad Hajian said the ship's 11 crew had been detained, but did not give details on their nationality or identify the ship."After inspection, more than 150,000 liters of smuggled diesel were discovered," Iran's state broadcaster quoted Hajian as saying.The semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards…

Iran on Saturday rejected as psychological warfare accusations that it was behind a deadly attack on a tanker off Oman's coast, and said Tehran sought to enhance the security of the strategic Gulf waterway.Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy economies said on Friday Iran was threatening international peace and security and that all available evidence showed it was behind the attack on the Mercer Street tanker last week."If we were to confront enemies...we would declare it openly, so the recent storytelling by the enemies is a psychological operation," state media quoted Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran's senior armed forces spokesman…

Iran released on Friday a South Korean ship and its captain detained since January after South Korea promised to try to secure the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions, a South Korean official said.The Iranian foreign ministry said the chemical tanker, Hankuk Chemi, was released after an investigation into environmental pollution, and at the request of the South Korean government and its owner, state news agency IRNA reported.The seizure of the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman in January had triggered a diplomatic dispute after Iran demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S.

A move by South Korea towards releasing $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds may help spur Iran’s judiciary to resolve the seizure of a Korean ship being held for alleged environmental pollution, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Friday.Earlier this month South Korea’s vice foreign minister held talks in Tehran on the release of the South Korean-flagged MT Hankuk Chemi, which was seized on Jan. 4 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.“Although the Korean ship’s seizure was only due to environmental pollution..., Korean action in expediting the return of Iran’s blocked funds may affect the judiciary’s decision in resolving the ship’s seizure…

At least seven ships have caught fire at Iran’s Bushehr port, the Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of fires and explosions around the country, some of which have hit sensitive sites.No casualties have been reported, the agency said.Plumes of dense black smoke billowed into the air, in a photograph of the incident published by the official IRNA news agency. State broadcaster IRIB showed fighters tackling clouds of smoke at a shipyard at the southern port on the Gulf.There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military…

Eleven vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative.”While such interactions had occurred occasionally a few years ago, they had stopped, and this incident comes at a time of increased tensions between the two countries.According to the statement, the Iranian vessels approached six U.S. military ships while they were conducting integration operations with Army helicopters in international waters.At one point…

Iranian industry, mining and trade minister said Iran is planning to build 200 cargo ships inside the country with an investment of EUR  300 million to boost its maritime development program.The state-owned IRNA news agency said that the ailing shipbuilding sector keeps growing only because foreign companies avoid offering services to the country due to the American sanctions. “We have defined a target for construction of 200 cargo vessels as part of the development plan for maritime industries,” said the mminister Reza Rahmani, adding, “Some €300 million will be invested in this field.”Rahmani said shipyards in the region and other…

An Iranian tanker damaged in the Red Sea two weeks ago has entered Iranian territorial waters, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday, citing information from the National Iranian Tanker Company.The tanker will dock at Kharg Island in two days, the report said.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last week that the tanker, the Sabiti, had been hit by at least two rockets, and there is video footage of the incident.The attack was undoubtedly carried out by a government and there would be consequences, Rouhani said last week.Iranian authorities reported that the Iranian-owned oil tanker was struck off Saudi Arabia’s coast. There has been no independent report on the cause of the damage.Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia has said it was not behind any attack on the tanker.

Two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, leaving one ablaze and both adrift, shipping firms said, driving oil prices as much as 4% higher over worries about Middle East supplies.The Front Altair, carrying petrochemical feedstock, was on fire in waters between Gulf Arab states and Iran after an explosion that a source blamed on a magnetic mine. The Norwegian owner said its crew were safe.A second Japanese-owned tanker was abandoned after being hit by a suspected torpedo, the firm that chartered the ship said.

Iran's envoy to London said on Wednesday the oil cargo of tanker Adrian Darya 1 was sold at sea to a private company, denying Tehran had broken assurances it had given over the vessel, but he insisted EU's Syria sanctions did not apply to Tehran."At (the) meeting with the British Foreign Secretary, it was emphasised that British authorities' action against the tanker carrying Iranian oil was in violation of international law," ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad said on Twitter after being summoned in London."EU sanctions cannot be extended to third countries. Despite numerous threats by America, the tanker sold its oil at sea to a private company and has not violated any obligation," Baeidinejad added."The private company ...

Iran called on Britain to immediately release its oil tanker which British Royal Marines seized last week on suspicion that it was breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told state news agency IRNA."This is a dangerous game and has consequences ... the legal pretexts for the capture are not valid ... the release of the tanker is in all countries' interest ... Foreign powers should leave the region because Iran and other regional countries are capable of securing the regional security," Mousavi said.Iran has warned of reciprocal measures if the tanker is not released by Britain.Writing by Parisa Hafezi

An Iranian sailor held hostage by Somali pirates for more than four years has been released with the help of the United Nations and a humanitarian group, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi thanked the Hostage Support Partnership group, U.N. officials in Somalia, and authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland and in Ethiopia for their help in winning the release of Mohammad Sharif Panahandeh, the state news agency IRNA said.Three Iranians sailors are still being held…

India has formally taken over operations at Iran’s strategic Chabahar Port. According to the government of India, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Indian Ports Global (IPGL) in Iran has taken over interim operation of the Chabahar Port with effect from December 24.Representatives from India, Iran, and Afghanistan met in Tehran to formally hand over control to IPGL.Accoding to IRNA news agency, IPGL had been granted the lease for “a temporary period of 18 months and a ten-year period afterwards.” IPGL’s management would include “loading and unloading, supplying equipment and marketing.”The U.S.